PowerPoint

Jack Graham: Making the right choices alters the destiny of your life. Making choices today is the sum total of your life and your character. Making the right decisions will change the course of your life.

Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how God calls you to be a servant. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, Service Over Selfishness.

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles and turn with me, please, to Proverbs 23 and verse 26. Choices are vital, not only for the direction of your life but for your ultimate destination and destiny. And throughout the Word of God, not only in Proverbs, which speaks of wise living and making wise and good and godly decisions, but also throughout all of the pages of Scripture, we are called upon to make wise choices, to love God, to choose to love him and follow him and obey him, and yes, to serve him.

Making the right choices alters the destiny of your life. Making choices today is the sum total of your life and your character. Making the right decisions, wise, skillful decisions and acting in accordance with your decisions, will change the course of your life. It is vital that you understand this principle because when you do, when you choose God's way, when you choose wise ways, you will have a beautiful life, not always an easy life, but a better life, a brighter life, a beautiful life. You make your choices, and then your choices make you.

There is no escaping the power of a personal choice. And I believe this series on choices is going to be a tipping point or a tripping point in your life. If you choose God's way, it is going to be a tipping point to change the direction of your life. But if you stumble in the darkness and continue in your own path, man's way rather than the wise, godly ways of God, then it will be a tripping point.

Life’s most important choices. I believe the most important choice that we make, certainly I believe the most important choice that I have made after I received Christ as my Lord and Savior and decided to follow him, was the decision, the choice to serve him. When Saul of Tarsus was transformed, became the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, when he was converted, he asked two questions: “Lord, who are you?” And once Christ identified himself as the risen redeemer, then the upcoming apostle said, “What would you have me to do?” “Lord, who are you?” and then, “What would you have me to do?”

Proverbs 23, verse 26. Just a half a sentence in this Proverbs and we are going to be looking at others and other scriptures, so keep your Bibles open. But it is a father inviting a son. It is God inviting us. “My son, my children, give me your heart.” Give me your heart. The heart is representative of the inner you, the part of you that is made for God and God alone ultimately. The part of you that God knows and sees is the you of you. Out of the heart flow all the issues of life, says the book of Proverbs.

Ultimately, we must get to the point as followers of Jesus that we realize that my life is not about me and my and my and I. We learn to choose over self, service, knowing that we can't change everything, but we can change something. Knowing that we can't change the whole world and the people of the world, but we can serve somebody. We can make a difference in people's lives near to us, to touch the near edge of some great need.

I know this, God wants me to be his servant. And when I was a teenager, 15 years of age, I heard the call of God to serve him for the rest of my life. Now, in my case, that meant preaching the gospel, pastoring a church. But when you hear the call of God, it may not be to serve as a missionary or a minister or a pastor vocationally. But I promise you, every member of God's church, of his body, is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, called to be a minister.

All of us, all of us are called by Christ to follow him with all of our hearts, to be his servant. Now, when you read the New Testament in particular, you see a word appearing describing the servants of God. It is used continuously by the Apostle Paul. It is the word “doulos” in the language of the New Testament. “Doulos” which means a bond slave. A slave of God. Paul said, “I am a doulos. I am a slave of Jesus Christ.”

The other apostles recorded in the New Testament also took this title to themselves, this title of humility and brokenness before the Lord, of ownership and obedience before God, who is master and king. The Apostle Peter said, “I am a slave of Jesus Christ.” John the Apostle, who was one of the dearest friends of our Lord, who laid his head over on the chest of our Lord at the final supper with the disciples, he said, “I am a slave of Jesus Christ.”

Jude said, “I am a slave of Jesus Christ.” James, the half-brother of Jesus, said, “I am a slave. I am a slave of Jesus.” And as I begin looking at this in the New Testament, I realize this is a missing metaphor describing Christians today. I don't know why. Perhaps it is because we are shy in our culture about slaves and slavery, knowing that colonial America until the Civil War, slavery was a blight on the face of this nation and also in Europe, and no man should be a slave to any other man. There is no question about that.

But if you are a follower of Jesus, you are his slave. You are duty-bound, life-bound to serve him. There is a difference even between a servant and a slave. And that's why I am making this point clear. A servant is hired to work. A slave is owned to work. No choice and no pay except meals and whatever the slave owner deemed necessary. A slave serves the master. He is owned to obey. A slave has no rights. A slave is submitted to authority.

And so when we say we are slaves to Jesus Christ in light of this Proverbs which says, “My son, give me your heart, give me your life,” it is because we belong to him lock, stock, and barrel. Paul said in First Corinthians, chapter 6, “What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that you are not your own? You are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body, which belongs to him.”

We are purchased by Christ. Therefore, we are possessed by Christ. He owns us. My eyes are not my eyes. They belong to him. My mouth, my lips, my speech is not my own. It belongs to him. My hands, my feet, my body, everything I have, my family, my future, all of it belongs to him. “I am yours, Lord,” is what the Christian says because we are his slaves.

And yet, we don't hear this in a “me first, all about me” generation. As a matter of fact, even in some churches today, we have a message of prosperity, more and more for religious consumerism, health and wealth and human happiness. That's what it is all about. So some even in the church are not getting this message of submission and sacrifice and surrender and working for the master till the day is done.

Instead, our lives too often are about how many zeros are at the end of our paycheck, the square footage of our house, the kind of cars we drive, vacations that we take, amassing more applause and more fame and more celebrity. But God has not called us to be celebrities; he has called us to be slaves for him. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus. He said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Wherever he leads, I will go.

Guest (Male): You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Service Over Selfishness. July 4th, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I am inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text “CRY” to 59789. Again, text “CRY” to 59789.

Remember that your support of PowerPoint ministries helps bring the truth of Jesus Christ to people around the world. Every day we hear from listeners who are searching for answers, longing for peace, and discovering hope through God's Word, often for the very first time. Your generosity keeps that message going out. And as our thanks for your gift today, we would like to send you Dr. Jack Graham's book, “The Jesus Book”, a powerful guide to help you grow deeper in your relationship with Christ. Text “MAY” to 59789 to give your gift and request your copy. Again, text “MAY” to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, Service Over Selfishness.

Jack Graham: Jesus will not live at the periphery of our lives. He is Lord. He is master. He is king. He will not allow us to be worthless, lazy servants. Now, one of the things you see in the book of Proverbs is a command to work hard. For example, you are in Proverbs, chapter 23, go back to Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 27 and 28, and look at that. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go and come again; tomorrow I will give it,’ when you have it with you.”

In other words, if there is a need and you see a need, meet that need. Jesus told a parable about this. A man who was broken and wounded along the roadside of life, and as these thieves took away his possessions and beat him, bloodied him to the inch of his life, left him for dead, and then along came religion. Religious professors and priests and scribes and Pharisees walking by on the other side of the road, Jesus said, and paid no attention.

And though they had the capability and the call of God to help hurting people, they walked by on the other side lest they soil their hands or dirty their fingers. Along came a Samaritan, hated in that world, the world of Jesus, a Samaritan. The Bible says he saw him, and he had compassion upon him. And he reached out and he took oil and wine, medicinal properties, and he soothed his wounds, and he took him to a local inn and paid for the bill.

Jesus then looked at a very surly, gnarly, religious crowd and said, “Who was this man's neighbor?” And the whole point of that parable is that anyone who has a need is my neighbor. I may not know him or her, may not live on my street, may live on the other side of town, on the other side of the tracks, may live on the other side of the world. But if I see a need, God has called me to see that need, to have a heart to feel that need with a heart of compassion, and then to act on that need as a servant of God.

And so rather than just seeing how much more I can accumulate, I become a generous giver rather than a greedy getter. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “You want to follow Christ? Listen to this verse, Galatians 2:20. ‘I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.’”

There is only one thing to do with self, that is not to improve self, to do better with self, but to die to self. To pick up the cross daily and follow after Christ. You want to improve yourself, you want to be happy in life, maybe we really ought today define happiness. Because happiness according to the Bible is a lot different than what the world calls happiness. Happiness in the Scripture is to be blessed. It is to be content, satisfied. That's real happiness.

How have we made life so complicated? When did we stop falling on our faces at the master's feet and simply saying, “Lord, I thank you for what I have, not what I don't have. I thank you for calling me and commanding me to serve you. Instead of just living for more toys and more gadgets and more stuff and expanding my portfolio, Lord, then I can live for you. And oh, yes, what you give me, if you choose to bless me beyond measure as you have, then I can give it as I give myself.” Paul said to the Corinthians giving their offerings, “First give yourselves and then your offering.” Be a servant.

Jesus is the perfect example, of course. Turn to the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John. It is Passover time. This is the last supper our Lord would share with his disciples. The master with these followers, slaves, at his feet. And yet something absolutely bizarre happened. For Jesus knowing that it was his time, that it was his moment, the reason that he was born on his way to the cross, verse 3 says, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands.” Now, stop right there. Everything is his. Jesus knew it. The world, the universe, the stars, the planets, everything. All things are in his hands.

So what did Jesus do? Did he take up his throne? No. He took up a towel. He stripped down his outer cloak and took the position, the posture of a slave. It was the job of a slave typically to wash the feet of the guests of the house. And since none of the disciples obviously were getting it yet, Jesus showed them what life is about and he got on his knees and one by one, he washed their feet.

Verse 15 says, “For I have given you an example that you should do just as I have done to you.” Not necessarily the physical washing of feet, but again, the meeting of the need that is right in front of you. Ministering and serving others. Acting like a slave instead of a selfish brat. And notice what happened. “Truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. And if you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Happy are you if you do these things. You want to be happy? Serve somebody. Try giving your life away instead of making it all about you. You know, I have seen people make it all about themselves and they just shrivel up and die. I have seen some who through the years have served God and maybe you are thinking about giving up, maybe you are tired. I want to tell you that the quickest way to depression and defeat in your life is to get all turned in on yourself and start feeling sorry for yourself.

And then the lethargy comes in and the laziness comes in and you don't want to get out of bed. Why? Because it is all about you. Now, I understand the issues of emotional depression and so on, but the fact is that anytime we are down and defeated and can't go is typically because we have turned inside rather than outside. And this will rob you of joy and passion for life. You develop an “I don't care, who cares about anything” attitude. And that's not the way of Christ.

Make the choice even when you don't feel like it, even though it seems impossible to get yourself up and get yourself going. First Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for you know your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. So here's the message: die to self, live to serve.

Guest (Male): You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, Service Over Selfishness. We want to thank you for being a part of the mission of PowerPoint ministries. Every day through the support of friends like you, the message of Jesus Christ is reaching people across television, radio, and digital platforms around the world. So many people today are searching for answers, longing for peace, and looking for something to still hold on to. And your support helps point them in the one who offers all that and so much more, Jesus.

As our thanks for your gift this month, we would like to send you Dr. Jack Graham's book, “The Jesus Book”, a powerful guide to help you move beyond simply knowing about Jesus to truly knowing him through his Word. Text “MAY” to 59789 to give your gift and get your copy. Again, text “MAY” to 59789. July 4th, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I am inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text “CRY” to 59789. Again, text “CRY” to 59789.

Jack Graham: Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? It is apparent that our culture celebrates and encourages selfishness. It is all about me, my, and I. And it is easy to get sucked into that kind of mentality, that attitude which makes it all about me. Life is not about you. Life is about Jesus, his love, his life, his lordship in us. Life is about serving him and making a difference.

So I challenge you to find a place of service in ministry today. Start with your own local church. Ask your pastor and church leaders how you can engage your life in ministry and service. Don't sit back and listen to messages and never do anything about it. Find your place of witness, of service, and give yourself unconditionally to follow Christ. Start with your own family. Husband, serve your wives. Wives, serve your husbands. Moms and dads, serve your children. Children, serve your parents. You know how? It is one of the big ten: obey your parents, honor them. That's serving your parents.

Serve the culture. I am talking about the world, people who don't know Jesus. Friendship evangelism and ministry evangelism and caring for their needs. That's what Jesus did. He preached to them, but he also ministered to them and healed their hurts and blessed their children. Way to reach our communities in this culture is like Christ did. You’ve got to serve somebody. Ask yourself if every member of this church were just like me, what kind of church would this church be?

If everybody prayed like I prayed, what would the prayer life of this church be like? If everyone witnessed as I witness, what would be the evangelism and soul-winning ministry of this church? If everyone worshipped like I worshipped, would our worship be honoring to God? If everyone gave tithes like I tithe and give, what kind of ministry would we have? If everyone served like I serve, what kind of church would we have?

And I know you may be tired, you may be unmotivated, but there's nothing that will motivate you and give you a holy momentum in life like serving God, getting up in the morning with something meaningful to do that lasts forever. I promise you. The son of man, Jesus, Mark 10:45, did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. I choose service over selfishness. Don't waste your life. John Piper wrote a book by that title and he spoke of a Reader's Digest article several years ago of a couple up in the Northeast, wife age 51, husband age 59, who decided to take early retirement because they could and they got them a place down in Florida.

Retired down to Florida in the sun, and here's what they did. They had a 30-foot trawler, they rode around that boat, then they played softball, and they collected seashells. Piper said, “When I read that, I thought it was a spoof on the American dream.” But then I realized, no, for many this is the American dream. Find a place where you can afford to quit and then quit. And here's a couple, when they stand before God at the judgment seat of Christ and God says, “Show me your life,” and they say, “Here are our seashells, God.”

It is more than seashells and ball games and pleasure and fun. God put us, what he did for us in saving us was give us our life back. What we are to do for him is to give it right back to him. I want to really encourage you to join us on JackGraham.org. Many reasons to do that. There are messages there, so many resources that will help you grow in Christ. This again is JackGraham.org, and we would love to have the opportunity to connect with you in this way. Or you could join me on Twitter or on Facebook every single day. We really do want to get to know you better, and we want you to get to know us better so together we can accomplish his will on earth. Be a part of our growing online community of faith.

Guest (Male): And that is today's PowerPoint. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how wisdom abstains from dangerous habits. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.